Seattle’s Neighbor: Vancouver, Canada

It’s about two and a half hours by car from our house in Seattle to Vancouver, Canada, and three hours to come back again. The difference is due to the border crossing — the lines into the US at Peace Arch are unpredictable and inefficient. There is little to do but sit in your idling …


…read more.

Antarctica Wish List

Just a few days ago, I picked up a sprawling picture book about Antarctica. You know the sort of thing, glossy paper, weighs a ton, gorgeous photography, very pretty maps. On breaks from my desk, I flip it open at random and read the spread about seals or tourism or ice or whatever. It’s nice …


…read more.

Gearing Up

Last week, while we were visiting, my mom asked “us kids” what we thought about the Kindle. “Yeah, like I need to carry around another piece of electronic STUFF,” was my response. The truth is, I kind of like the idea of an iPad, eReader, some third thing that is especially designed for reading, after …


…read more.

Local Transit

On my third day in Dublin, I rented a bicycle. The bike was too big, the gears wobbly, but it was Ireland and I wanted to ride a bike. By the end of the week, I knew the back roads.  I rode the narrow shoulder past green yards, mossy little cottages set back from the …


…read more.

Passports with Purpose Picks

Things are going along swimmingly with Passports with Purpose, the annual travelbloggers fundraiser. We’ve got, what, a hundred or so participating bloggers, we’re about 11k short of our goal, and the stuff this year, oh, the stuff is amazing. I don’t get to participate — as a founder, in an attempt to make sure that …


…read more.